Dunwoody Rotary hosts AIDS advocate | Community News | thecrier.net - Dunwoody Crier

Sandy Thurman Dunwoody Rotary AIDS

THURMAN

In honor of World AIDS Day, the Rotary Club of Dunwoody  had a very special speaker - Sandy Thurman, a renowned leader in the field of HIV eradication and a global advocate for vulnerable populations. For more than 30 years, she has collaborated with a wide range of partners to advance development and management of HIV/AIDS programs and policies at the local, national, and global levels. While she is known most for her focus on HIV prevention, care, treatment, and policy, Ms. Thurman has also made important contributions to polio eradication, women’s health, and children’s health. In serving as President Clinton’s AIDS czar, Thurman had a meteoric rise in position and effectiveness.  Her efforts in HIV and AIDS led to her stellar work in developing of Rotary Family Health Days which draws thousands to health centers set up around Africa.

The United States spends $6 billion around the world to combat the disease which has one million victims. In Africa, five times more women than men have the disease.  She stated that one cannot look at the issue without looking at underlying social and cultural issues.  The rates of infection among the elderly, especially in Florida and California retirement communities,  was mentioned, too.  During Q&A, Thurman confirmed a connection between trafficking and HIV. 

The most riveting news came when she told the club that there are 40,000 new cases of AIDS in the U.S. and most are in the Southeast.  Atlanta has the second highest rate in the country, with Grady’s reporting 100 deaths a year.  One cause of the deaths is the stigma attached to having HIV, resulting in young men’s not showing up at medical centers until they are too sick to live.  Thurman’s message to the public is “We must stay until the fire is out.” Left untreated, the virus has a long incubation period in the body, with full-blown AIDS coming later.  Testing often is necessary, and those in treatment must stay in treatment.  A vaccine is being developed, but it is not available yet. President Trump has declared and funded the effort to end this scourge on our society.  



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